Acer, ASUS and Lenovo to present ultra-thin laptops in Q1 2011

DigiTimes reports Acer, ASUS and Lenovo are each working on new ultra-thin laptops to compete with Apple's MacBook Air. These Sandy Bridge-based systems will feature 13.3" to 14" screens, you can expect their arrival sometime in Q1 2011.

As Apple's new MacBook Air notebook has seen a strong demand in the channel, notebook brands including Acer, Asustek Computer and Lenovo are all set to follow suit and launch 13.3- to 14-inch notebooks that feature ultra-thin designs and are built around the Sandy Bridge platform by the end of the first quarter, according to sources from notebook players.

Since Apple has adopted open-cell assembly, whereby panel makers only complete the cell part of the LCD module and then ship the unfinished module to backlight unit (BLU) maker or downstream assembly service provider to finish the backend part of LCD module assembly, panel modules of up to 3-5mm thinner than using the traditional procedure have become available. Vendors are also considering to adopt the same method for their ultra-thin notebooks.